Semiautomatic can seaming machine



oct- 10, 1933; TROYER r AL 1,930,402

SE HIAUTOMATIC CAN SEAMING MACHINE F iled March 18, 1932 Sheets-Sheet 1.

d'N ATTORNEY NEL Oct. 10, 1933.

N. TROYER El AL SEMIAUTOMATIC CAN SEAMING MACHINE Filed March" 18 1952 7 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR NELSON TROYER HUL E. PEfl/RSON ATTORNEY Oct. 10, 1933. N. TROYER ET AL SEMIAUTOMATIC CAN SEAMING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 18, 1932 N. TROY ER El AL SEMIAUTOMATIC CAN SEAMING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 18 1952 N545 ON 77? lNVENTOR 0Y5)? PHUVL 5 PEH/EJO/Y BY o 9W TTORNEY Oct. 10, 1933. TRQYER r AL 1,930,402

SEMIAUTOMATIC CAN SEAMING MACHINE Filed March 18 1932 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 INV'EN TOR R0 YER ff 1%?g PZW50/v ATTORNEY Oct. 10,1933. N T ER H M 1,930,402

SEMIAUTOMATIC CAN SEAMING MACHINE VENT OR g 1 W1 M ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 10, 1 933 UNITED STATES 1,930,402 SEMIAUTOMATIC CAN SEAMING MACHINE Nelson Troyer and Paul E. Pearson,

Wash, assignors to Seattle, Continental Can Coma pany, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 18,

Claims.

This invention relates to can seaming machines and more particularly to machines designed for applying and seaming the ends or covers to filled cans; the present invention be ing in the nature of an improvement in machines for this purpose which are of a semiautomatic character and which operate mechanically to scam the cans after they have been manually placed in seaming position.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a machine for the above purpose in which,

can per minute speed of operation is materially increased by reason of continuous rotation of the seaming head, as distinguished from those types of machines in which the head rotates only during the seam forming operation.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a machine in which the seamer head carries seam forming rolls which, insofar as their seaming action is concerned, are controlled independently of the head rotating mechanism thereby making it unnecessary for positively timing the cans in their application to the seamer head.

' Still another object of the invention is to provide means whereby a manual movement of devices for lifting a can toward seaming position effects the release of a clutch device whereby certain other parts are set in motion to mechanically lift the can into assembled relation with its cover, then to position the can, with cover applied, in seaming position relative to the seamer head. Also, to provide coverfeed devices whereby, incident to the mechanical lowering of the can after being seamed, a cover will be placed in position for application to the next can advanced to the head.

Other objects of the invention reside in the various details of construction, in the combina tion of parts and in their mode of operation, as

will hereinafter be described.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, we have provided the improved details of construction, the. preferred forms of which are'illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a seamer embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, parts being shown in section for purpose of better illustration.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section in the axial plane of the seamer spindle and its drive shaft.

Fig. 4 is a top or plan view of the machine.

1932. Serial No. 599,820 (Cl. 113-14) Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken substantially on the line 5-5 in Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on the line 66 in Fig. 1 showing the can end feed mechanism.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken on line 7-7 in Fig. 6. a

Fig. 8 is a horizontal Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a sectional detail showing the centering plate for directing and centering the can within the cover.

Fig. 10 is a detail, in plan, showing the adjustable, centering stops for the proper centering of cans of different diameters.

Fig. 11 is a vertical, sectional detail of the seamer head. i

Fig. 12 is a horizontal section taken on line 12-12 in Fig. 11. a

Fig. 13 is a detail showing the positionof the seaming roll slides in the seamer head as adjusted for performing the first seaming operation.

Fig. 14 is an underside view of the seamer head with rolls adjusted for first seaming operation.

Referring more in detail to the several drawings- The machine, as herein illustrated, comprises an upright frame structure in the nature of a hollow standard 1 which is flanged at its lower end, as at 2, to receive anchor bolts or the like whereby the machine may be suitably fixed to its supporting base.

Fixed upon the upper end of the standard is a housing 3 which mounts the seamer head, presently described in detail; this being designated in its entirety by reference numeral 4. Rotatably mounted within this housing is a horizontally disposed drive shaft 5 through which power is applied to drive the seamer mechanism and the can cover feed devices, as will presently be described.

The drive shaft 5 is'rotatably mounted insection on line 8-8 in bearings Sand 7 within the housing 3, as'best' illustrated in Figure 3, and at its outer end-has a belt pulley wheel 8 revolvably mounted there on and adapted to be operatively connected to the drive shaft 5 through the medium of a clutch mechanism, designated by numeral 9. A motor 10 isrigidly supported from the standard near its upper end and this has a belt pulley wheel 11 mounted on its drive shaft 12 and belts '13 are extended about the pulley wheels 8 and 11 to provide an operative connection between the motor and the shaft 5.

The clutch mechanism 9 may be shifted to effect or to release the driving connection between the belt pulley 8 and shaft 5. This shifting of the clutch is under control in a shift lever 14 which, as seen in Fig. 4, is pivotally supported from the standard by a pivot bolt 14a and it has a relatively short lever arm 14b operatively connected with the clutch and a rather long lever arm 14c extended forwardly to a position adjacent the side of the seaming head where it is easily accessible to the machine operators position at the front of the machine. To release the driving connection provided by the clutch, the operator merely shifts the lever arm 140 outwardly from the full line position in Fig. 4 to the dotted line position, and this releases the clutch. when it is desired to start the machine, the lever arm 140 is pulled inwardly and this sets the clutch and holds the pulley wheel 8 against rotation on the shaft 5.

Fixed to the standard 1, at the front side of themachine and directly below the seamer head 4, is a guideway 16 having a horizontal portion 161: on which the cansare delivered to the machine for manual placement. This guideway may be supplied with filled cans in any suitable manner. The guideway also has a downwardly inclined delivery portion 16b along which the seamed cans will slide after being seamed, and delivered from the machine.

Axially aligned with the seamer head within the guideway 16 is a circular opening 18 within which a can lifting pad 19 is slidably keyed for vertical movement. This pad is mountedupon the upper end of a vertical post or standard 20 and the post is .slidable vertically within guide bearings 21-21 extended forwardly from the standard as shown in Fig. 3. When the post is in a lowered position the top surface of the pad 19 is flush with the top surface of the guideway so that cans may slide thereonto. Upward shifting of the post will lift a can on the pad to seaming position.

, Proper centering of the cans on the pad is required, and for this purpose there is provided the centering stops 22-22. as seen best in Fig. 10. These stops are located at equal radial distances from axial line of the seamer head and are so adjusted that when a can is disposed against them it will be co-axial of the seamer head. These stops-consist of circular disks eccentrically attached to the pad by bolts 23 so that by rotative adjustment of the disks, they may be made to accommodate cans of different diameters. After an adjustment is made, the disks are then held there by tightening of their pivot bolts. It will be observed also that the top surface of the pad 19 is corrugated or sharply ribbed as at 19a in order that the cans will not slip or rotate thereon during a seaming operation; the pad being held against rotation because of its keyed connection in the opening of the guideway containing it. It will be mentioned here that the cans, designated by numeral 24, are of the common type of construction with an outwardly turned upper end flange 24'. The covers to be applie'dare of that construction having a pcripheral seat adapted to receive the can end thereagainst and a flange that is arranged to be attached to the body flange in the usualdouble seam.

The can ends'or covers, 25, are stacked in a vertical hopper formed by a plurality of rods 26 mounted at their lower ends upon a guide plate 27 which is flxed in a horizontally disposed position above the can guideway and extended horizontally to a position directly below the seamer head 4. This plate is mounted upon the standard 1 by attaching bolts 28, as seen in Figs. 2 and 6, and it is provided with a guideway 29, seen in Fig. 6, along which the covers 25 may be advanced one at a time from the lower end of the hopper to position for application to the cans. At a point co-axially aligned with the seamer head, the plate 27 is provided with an opening 30 over which the covers will be advanced, and when in this advanced position they are supported by a narrow peripheral flange 31, seen best in Fig. 6.

The can covers are advanced by the reciprocal action of a feed slide 32, adapted, on each forward movement, to displace one can cover from the lower end of the stack in the hopper and to push it forwardly along the guideway to a position registering co-axially with the opening 30. The feed slide is actuatedby a lever arm 34 connected at its outer end We; link 35 with the slide, and fixedly mounted at its inner end on a vertically disposed shaft 36. This shaft 36 is rotatably mounted in bearings 3738 on the standard and at itslower end, as seen in Fig. 8, has a gear segment 39 fixed thereon meshing with a gear segment 40 supported by a pivot'4l'. This latter segment has a cam roller 42 mounted therein and this follows within a cam groove 43 in a cam wheel'44 which rotates in synchronism with the seamer operation, as will presently be apparent, so that incident to the completion of the seaming operation, and the lowering of a can from the seamer head, the feed slide will be operated through this connection with cam 44 to deliver an end or cover to position registering with plate opening 30, for application to the next can advanced upwardly through the opening to the seamer head.

The cam wheel 44 is fixed to the lower end of a vertically mounted shaft 50 revolubly -mounted at its lower end in a bearing 51 and at its upper end in a bearing 52; this latter bearing is within the housing 3. Revoluble on this shaft within the housing 3 is a gear wheel 54 and this is continuously driven by a gear 55 on the shaft 5. The shaft 50 is driven through the medium of a clutch dog 56, see Fig. 5, which is pivotally mounted in a collar 57 keyed on shaft 50 and at its outer end the dog is arranged to engage within an internal toothed ratchet 59 formed within or upon gear 54. A small spring 60 between the dog and collar presses the dog out to normally retain the driving connection, but the driving connection will be released incident to depression of the dog; this being effected by its coming in contact with a presser plate 61 pivotally supported'by a supporting shaft 62. Shaft 62 is revolubly mounted, as seen in Fig. 5, and at one end has a lever arm 64 whereby it may be partially rotated-to lift the presser plate clear of the dog, thus to permit it to again engage the ratchet to drive shaft 50.

After? each can '24 is manually positioned against the stops 22-22 on the pad 19,- the latter is lifted upwardly by an upward action of the post 20 and this carries the upper flanged end 24' of the can through the opening 30 in the feed plate 2'7 and against the cover which has been advanced into the plate opening. This centers the can relative to the cover and seats the can body end flange within the peripheral rod is connected-to the '74 downwardly a farther flange of the cover. The can cover, at this time, is held in place for the seating of the can thereagainst by means associated with the seamer head, as will presently be described.

The lifting of the post through its initial movement is manually done, and this is accomplished by depression of a foot lever 68 that is fixed to a cross shaft 69 pivotally supported within the standard base. This lever operates through a vertical slot 70 in the forward wall of the standard and at its outer end has a foot plate 71. A short lever arm 72 is fixed on the shaft 69 and is connected by a link 73 'with the inner end of a rocker lever 74 supported between its ends bya pivot shaft 75. The inner end of the lever 74 is connected to the link 73 by a pin 74:: fixed in the lever and extending through a longitudinal slot 730'. in the link and normally engaging with the upper end of the slot. The outer end of lever 74 is formed with a yoke 76 embracing a collar 77 fixed on the post; the collar having an encircling slot 77a into which pins 76a are mounted in the yoke and extend into the slot to provide an operating connection. A coiled spring 79 attached to the inner por-- tion of lever 74 and to a lug 80 on the standard pulls upwardly to return the foot lever and post to normal positionafte'r pressure is released therefrom. The upward movement of the post 20 is limited by reason of the lever 68 contacting, when depressed, with the base of slot 70, therefore the can will only be lifted manually to a position against the cover and not to the seaming position. Manual lifting of the cans into assembled relation with the covers is very desirable, especially on high filled cans, or cans containing liquid contents, as this to a marked degree overcomes that spilling or gushing out of the contents of the cans which would result if the cans were lifted mechanically by the fast acting cam 44; the action of which is too severe and too fast for the closing of high filled cans or cans containing anything of a character that would be apt to spill out.

This downward movement of the foot lever 68 to lift the can toward seaming position also releases the clutch dog 56.to effect a driving connection between shafts 5 and 50; the releasing of the dog is effected by the tilting of the presser plate 61 which moves it out of the path of the dog. The presser plate 61 is tilted through the downward pull on the link 73 and the rod 82 which is connected thereto. This arm 64 carried by the shaft '62 which swings the presser plate (see Fig. 3). A coiled spring 83 is attached to rod 82 and to the upper end of the standard 1 to pull upwardly on the rod thus to yieldingly hold the presser plate 61 in position for releasing the dog.

Coincident with the lifting of the can by action of the foot lever 68, and the release of the clutch dog 56 to drive the shaft 50, the cam wheel 44 on the lower end of shaft 50-starts to rotate. This wheel has a circular cam flange 84 extending downwardly therefrom and a cam roller 85 mounted by the pin 740 on the inner end of lever 74 rides on this cam. Thus after the can has been manually raised against the can cover by depression of foot lever 68, the cam 84 acts on the roller 85 to rock the lever distance permitted by. the pin and. slot connection 74a and 73a thus to fartherliftrits outer end, thereby to raise the post 20 and can through a distance which causes the can with cover assembled thereon to be lifted upinto seaming position within the seamer head. In this position the can extends upwardly through the opening 30 in the plate 27 and is properly located between the seam forming rolls of the seamer head. In Fig. 9 the initial position of the can is shown in full lines, and in its upper or seaming position is indicated in those'dotted lines above the line of the plate 27.

In order to permit a can to be lowered from seaming position, especially for inspection of the first seaming operation, there is provided a rorotatably adjusted thereby to lower the pivot point and thereby to effect a like adjustment of the post 20 which supports the can pad. The lever 87 may be held at set positions by a spring pressed lock bolt 88 at its end engageable with stops 89 on the housing.

The seamer head 4 comprises a vertically disposed spindle co-axially aligned with the post 20 and rotatably supported by anti-friction bearings 101 and 102 that are mounted in the forward end of housing 3.- tubular form and is revolubly driven by a bevelled gear 103 keyed thereon and in mesh with a bevelled gear 104 mounted on the inner end of the driven shaft 5, as seen in'Fig. 3. Thus, the seamer spindle will be rotated continuously.

When a can to be closed is lifted upwardly from its lowered position, as seen in Fig. 3, toward the seaming position, the can cover, after seating on the can end, is carried upwardly and seated against a seamer chuck 105 that is carried on the lower end of a rigidly mounted shaft 106 extended co-axially of the spindle. .This shaft is locked at its upper end in a supporting bracket 108 fixed on top of the housing 3 by nuts 107 threaded thereon and against the bracket. After the can end engages with and seats the chuck therein, the seaming operation takes place.

This spindle is ofhorizontally and are longitudinally slidable in a guideway 113 formed in the seamer head 110, as illustrated best injig. 13.

The bar 112 is provided at one end on its upper side with paired lugs 114, and bar 112' is likewise provided .at the opposite end withlugs 114. These slides are adapted to be actuated endwise and in opposite directions by means.

of toggle links 115. These are of S shaped form to permit of acertain amount of yielding there-- in during a seaming operation when the .seaming'rolls pass over the can side seam. These links have theirouter ends pivotally attached,

as at 116-1'16' between the lugs 114 and 114" and have their inner ends attached by pins 117-117 and to a nut 1 18 that is located with-.-

in the spindle and which is fixed to the lower end qf a sleeve 120 which is co-axial of the spindle and extends upwardly from the seamer head and at its upper end is pivotally connected to the outer end of a rocker lever 121 which is mpported by a pivot 122, and at its inner end is provided with a cam roller 123. This roller is arranged to follow within a cam groove 124 in a cam 125 fixed upon the upper end of the revolubly driven shaft 50 which will be rotatably driven incident to release of the clutch dog 56.

Mounted on the undersides of the slide bars 112-112 and at their opposite ends, as is clearly shown in Figs. 12 and 14, is a pair of seaming rolls 130-130 designated as the first operation rolls. Likewise, mounted at opposite ends of the bars is a pair of seaming rolls 131131' designated as the second operation seaming rolls. These several rolls are circumferentially grooved in the usual manner for double seam forming and are at the proper level with respect to the chuck 105 to cooperate therewith in the seaming operation.

When a can is lifted against the chuck 105 the seamer head is rotating but the two sets of seaming rolls are held in neutral position by reason of the position of the slides 112112'. Then as the cam 125 starts to rotate through its rocker lever connection with the upper end of the sleeve 120, the latter will be shifted up-. wardly. This movement of the sleeve draws inwardly and upwardly on the toggle links 115 and causes the two slide bars to be shifted inwardly so as to bring the first operation seaming rolls 130-130 against the can end fiange to effect the initial seaming operation; this being well understood in the art. Then a farther rotative movement of the cam 125 causes the rocker lever 121 to actuate the sleeve 120 downwardly so that the toggles move the slides in the opposite direction to bring the second seaming rolls into operation while the first operation rolls are disengaged from the can. After the seaming operation is thus completed, the sleeve is lifted so as to bringthe slides and rolls back to the neutral position; this movement of the sleeve, of course, being effected by reason of a proper formation of the cam groove 124 in the cam wheel 125. Coincident with the completion of the seams, the clutch dog 56 will have been brought back to engage with the press plate 61 thus to disengage it from the ratchet gear, thereby to stop the driving operation of shaft 50, with all parts back in starting position.

As soon as the seam is thus formed, the pad on which the can is supported is lowered incident to the downward action of the. post 20, and coincident with this the can is pushed loose from the chuck 105 by a push rod 140 which extends coaxially through the chuck mounting shaft 106 and beyond the upper end thereof and at its upper end is connected pivotally with a rocker lever 141 supported by the pivot 142 from the bracket 108. At its. inner end the lever 141 carries a cam roller 143 engaging with the cam surface 145 formed about the upper. rim of cam wheel 125; this latter cam surface being so arranged that at the proper time the push rod 140 is actuated downwardly against the can cover, thereby stripping it from the chuck. It is intended that the seaming rolls 130-431 be adjustably mounted in their supporting slides so that they may be adjusted to suit different sizes of cans. For this purpose eachroll is mounted, as shown in Fig. 11, on a carrier 1'75 that is slidable in a longitudinal groove 1'76 in the slide bar. An adjusting screw 1'77 is threaded through each block and has a rotatably fixed connection with the bar as at 1'78 so that by turning the screw the carrier will be moved lengthwise of the bar to adjust the position of the roll accordingly.

Assuming that the machine is so constructed, its use is as follows:

The operator stands in front of the machine and manually places a can upon the pad 19 and centers it against the stops 22. He then presses downwardly on the foot plate 71 of foot lever 68 to move the lever downwardly. Th s movement of the lever through the medium of connecting link 73 rocks lever '76 in a manner to lift the post 20 upwardly and thereby carry the upper end of the can within the opening 30 of the plate 2'7'and against the can cover. Coincident with the movement of the foot lever 68 which lifts the post, the connecting rod 82, by reason of its connection with the upper end of link '73, rocks the press plate 61 upwardly to release the depressed clutch dog 56 to engage the ratchet gear teeth. This causes the shaft 50 to be set in motion and the cam wheels 44 and 125 to rotate therewith. The rotative movement of the cam 44, by reason of the cam design, causes the rocker lever 74 to be actuated through an additional movement to farther lift the post 20 thereby to lift the cam and seat the cover against the chuck. At this time, the cam 125 is in motion and actuates the lever 121 to bring 'the first operation seaming rolls against the can flange to complete the first seaming operation, then to bring the second operation seaming rolls against the seam to complete the operation, then finally to move the rolls back to neutral position. Following this, the extractor rod 140 is actuated by cam 145 against the'can end or cover to push the can downwardly from the chuck coincident with the downward movement of the supporting pad, it being understood that the cam 44 is so arranged that it will permit the post 20 to be actuated downwardly by spring '79 at the same time that the can is pushed from the chuck by the rod 140.

It will be here stated that after each seaming operation the cycle of operation of the machine is not completed until the closed can has been lowered, a cover fed into position in the opening 30 in the plate 27, and the cam 124 has actuated the extractor rod 140 downwardly so that its lower end portion seats against the cover which has been advanced; the parts then assuming the position in which they are shown in Fig. 3. i

For the accommodation of cans of different heights, the guideway 16 may be adjusted vertically on the standard toward and from the seamer head and to permit a like adjustment of the pad 19 on which the cans are located for seaming, the collar '77 is adjustably fastened to the post 20. The centering stops 22 then would be adjusted to suit the diameter of the can and the can cover feed plate would be changed to suit the size of the cover that was required.

The machine, as described, provides for fast operation, principally because of the continuously rotating seaming head and stationary cam. Also, since the seaming rolls are operable automatically under control of the manual starting device, and do not require that the cans be timed in their application to the seaming head.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In combination, a seaming head, a can support alined therewith, can cover holding means between the head and can support, manually operable means for lifting a can supporting and centering pad alined therewith, can cover feeding mechanism including a cover holding means intermediate the head and pad and means for individually delivering can ends thereto, manually operable means for lifting the can support to assemble a can thereon with a cover delivered into the holding means and mechanism automatically operable incident to and following the said manual operation to move the can support an additional distance to place the assembled can and cover in position to be seamed by said head, then following the seaming, to lower the can to initial position.

3. In combination, a seamer head, a can supporting and centering pad alined therewith, means between the seamer head and can supporting pad for holding a can cover, manually operable mechanism for lifting the pad an initial distance for assembling a can thereon with a cover in the holding means, mechanism automatically operable incident to the initial movement to lift the pad through an additional distance to position the assembled can and cover adjacent the head for seaming, then to lower the pad and can to initial position and acover feeding mechanism for delivering a coverfrom a source of supply to the holding means incident to each lowering movement of the pad.

4. In a can seaming machine, a continuously rotating seaming head, normally inactive seaming rolls mounted thereby, a can support alined with the head and on which a can may be held against rotation for seaming, a cover holder between the head and support, manually movable means for lifting the support to assemble a can thereon with a cover in the holder and means set in motion incident to said manual operation for lifting them to the head for seaming and means automatically operable after the lifting of the can and cover, to actuate the seaming rolls to form the seam.

5. In a can seaming machine, a continuously rotatingseaming head, normally inactive seaming rolls mounted thereby, a can support alined with the head and on which a can may be held against rotation for seaming, a cover holder between the head andsupport, manually movable means for lifting the support to assemble a can thereon with a cover in the holder, means automatically set in motion incident to said manual operation for lifting them to the head for seammg, means automatically operable after the lifting of the can and cover to actuate the seaming rolls to form the seam, and for lowering the support to initial position after completion of a the seam holding means alined betweenthe seamer. head and can support and devices operable .to individually-deliver can covers thereinto, manually distanceforassemblingacanthereonwitha source of supply,

the feed slide. 6. In combination, a continuously seaming rolls thereon movable with the 1 and a can cover feed mechanism including a cover thecanpadaninitial' cover on the holding means, mechanism automatically set in motion incident to said manual movement to lift the pad an additional distance to position the can and cover adjacent the head for seaming and means operable to then actuate the seaming rolls against the cover flange to'form the seam.

7. In combination, a continuously rotating seamer head, including seaming rolls movable to and from seaming position,- a cansupporting pad alined with the head, a can cover holder between the head and pad; means manually operable to lift the pad for applying a can thereon to a cover in said holder, means operable incident to said manual operation to lift the pad an additional distance to hold the assembled can and cover for a definite interval of time adjacent the head for seaming, then for lowering it to initial position, means for actuating the seaming. rolls to complete the seam while the can is adjacent the head, and means for feeding a can cover to said holder with each lowering movement of the pad.

8. In combination, a seamer head, driving means continuously rotating the head, a can centering and supporting pad alined with the head, can cover holding means between the head and pad, normally inactive mechanism movable aninitial distance for lifting the pad to assemble a can thereon with a cover in said holding means and, a farther distance for positioning them when assembled adjacent the head fdr seaming, manually movable means for effecting the initial movement of said normally inactive mechanism, a clutch adapted incident tomovement of the manually movable means to effect an operating connection between the head driving means and the normally inactive mechanism for effecting its farther movement and means for automatically disrupting the clutch connection upon completion of the seaming operation and return of the normally inactive mechanism to initial position.

9. In combination, a seamer head including normally inactive seaming rolls, driven means for continuously rotating the head, a; can supporting and centering pad alined with the head,

'a cover holding plate between the pad and head,

a feed slide operable to move can covers from a one at a time, to said cover holding plate, a normally inactive shaft, a lever manually movable for lifting the pad into assembled relation with a cover in said holding plate, a clutch operable by said movement of the lever to effect a driving connection between the said driven means and the normally inactive shaft, a camon the lattershaft operable to actuate the lever an additional distance to lift the can and cover to seaming position, a second cam on shaft, means operable by the second cam to actuate the seaming rolls, to form the seam, means for automatically disrupting the clutch upon completion of the seaming operation and the return of the shaftto starting position, and means operable '10. In. combination, aseamer head, a can centering and supporting pad alined with head, a can cover holding means between the pad head, a driven shaft operatively connected to continuously rotate active shaft, a driving connection between said shafts including a releasable clutch, means normally holding the clutch disengaged, a manually movable lever operatively connected for lifting thepadtoaasembleacanthereonwithacoverin incident to rotation of the shaft for actuating the head, a normally inf the holding means, means operable incident to manual movement of the pad, to set the clutch to drive the normally inactive shaft for lifting the pad an additional distance to dispose the can against the head for seaming and subsequently lowering them to initial position, and means for automatically disconnecting the clutch upon the completion of one cycle of operation.

11. In combination, a seamer head, including normally inactive seaming rolls, a driven shaft continuously rotatingthe head, a can supporting and centering pad alined with the head, a cover holding means below the head, feed mechanism for delivering covers from a hopper to said holding means, a movable post mounting the pad, a normally inactive shaft, a clutch adapted to operatively connect the driven shaft and normally inactive shaft, a cam on the latter shaft, a

pivoted lever connected with the post, means manually operable to move the lever to lift the post an initial distance to move a can placed on the pad into assembled relation with a cover in said holder, means operated by the movement of the lever to set the clutch to drive the normally inactive shaft, a cam on said shaft operable to move the lever an additional distance to lift the can against the head for seaming and for then lowering the post to initial position, other means operable by the said cam to actuate the feed mechanism to deliver a cover to the holder on each return of the shaft to initial position, a second cam on said normally inactive shaft and means operable by said cam to actuate the seaming rolls against and from the can.

12. In a machine of the character described, a seamer head, a driving shaft for the head, a can supporting pad below the head, a cover holder between the pad and head, a normally inactive cam shaft, a driving connection between the head driving shaft and cam shaft, said connection including a releasable'clutch, a pivoted rocker lever connected at one end with the can support, a control lever, a rod connecting the said lever and clutch for setting the latter to drive the cam shaft and having a lost motion connection with the rocker lever whereby movement of the control lever to set the clutch will lift the can support an initial distance to assemble a can thereon with a cover in the holder, a cam on the cam shaft for actuating the rocker lever to move the can support a final distance to lift the can and cover against the head for seaming and means for automatically disrupting the clutch after completion of the seaming operation and return of parts to normal position.

13. A frame structure, a seamer head rotatably mounted by the frame, a post alined with the head, a can centering and supporting pad on the post, a cover holding guide between the head and pad, a hopper for can covers, a feedslide operable to deliver covers from the hopper one at a time to the holder, a driven shaft continuously rotating the seamer head, a normally inactive cam shaft rotatable in the frame, a driving connection between the driven shaft and normally inactive shaft including a releasable clutch, a cam on the shaft, a rocker lever pivoted in the frame and connected at one end with the post and disposed to be actuated by said cam to lift the post to move a can thereon after assembly with its cover against the head for seaming, a starting lever, a rod connecting the lever and clutch for setting the latter to drive the cam shaft and having a lost motion connection with the rocker lever whereby the latter is manually actuated an initial distance with the setting of the clutch to lift the post to assemble a can on the pad with a cover in said holder, means operable by the cam to actuate the feed slide after each seaming operation, and means for disrupting the clutch at the end of each operation.

14. In a seamer, a continuously revolving head, an extractor rod associated therewith normally inactive seaming rolls carried by the head, a cover holder alined with the head, a can support, means for holding a can against rotation thereon, and means for moving the support to lift a can thereon into assembled relation with a cover in said holder and to move them an additional distance, when assembled, to the head for seaming, means for extending the extractor rod against thecan cover to retain it in the holder while the can is assembled therewith and for raising it with the can as the latter is lifted for seaming, and means for actuating the seaming rolls to form the seam.

15. In a can seaming machine, a main shaft, a continuously rotating seaming head operated thereby and provided with seaming rolls, a stationary chuck associated with said seaming head, a can support alined with the head, auxiliary shaft, means operated thereby for shifting the seaming rolls for the seaming operation, means operated by said shaft for moveing the can support so as to hold the can and cover firmly in engagement with the chuck. throughout the seaming operation, a control clutch through which the auxiliary shaft is driven from the main shaft, a foot lever and means operated thereby for releasing the clutch so that the auxiliary shaft may be given one rotation for seaming the cover to the can. 

